Ocarina of Time: Fun and Games With the Hookshot

The fun with the hookshot starts immediately in Kakariko Village. It can hook onto the buildings’ roofs. There’s a skulltula on the roof of Impa’s house, and the man on the potion shop looking out at Death Mountain gives Link a heart piece. The cucco lady says she’s bred a type of chicken she’s not allergic too, and gives Link an egg to hatch, and I assume he’ll eventually use the egg on Talon, who’s moved into the village since being kicked off his ranch. But I have to wait to do that, so let’s go explore the world some more.

Lake Hylia’s suffered some drainage too – surely this isn’t all from that one windmill! The scarecrows are still there, and when Link plays the song he’d played as a kid, they arrange for one of the scarecrows to show up when Link plays the song. So, Link goes over near the fishing pond – which due to the lowered water level, is seemingly inaccessible – and plays the song. The scarecrow shows up on the ledge, and Link hookshots over to him.

Time has not been kind to the fishing pond; as it’s become inaccessible, Link’s the only customer. Oh, and the proprietor’s apparently losing his hair, so he’s wearing a hat and has added a rule about casting at people. No one’s broken the record Link set back seven years ago, but the proprietor said that the fish would be bigger now, so Link tries his luck. I spent a good chunk of time on this, even after identifying a particularly promising target that just would not stay interested in the lure. Finally I got it to bite and reeled it in and it was almost double the weight of the one from when Link was a kid. The reward for such a big fish was a golden scale, further increasing Link’s diving ability.

Now’s where the Lakeside Laboratory comes in: with the extra 3 seconds, Link’s now able to grab one of the rupees on the bottom, and the “secret discovered” chime plays at the same time. The scientist awards Link for his diving prowess with a heart piece. Outside the laboratory, the mature magic bean can put Link on the roof, where if he can handle the crows, he can make it to a platform with yet another heart piece. And there’s one more heart piece out in Hyrule Field, underwater in a hidden hole north of Lon Lon Ranch. There’s one last thing to get, a skulltula on the grounds of Ganon’s Castle that needs the hookshot, and now Link can appease Navi and return to the forest.

Turns Out You Can Go Home Again, It’s Just Overrun With Monsters Now

Without the Deku Tree’s protection, even the Kokiri village has been overrun by monsters – octoroks and Deku scrubs and babas. The Kokiri themselves are hiding in their houses; unlike Link, they haven’t aged any. Some of them mention Link, but no one seems to recognize him. Saria and Mido are both nowhere to be found in the village. There’s a gold skulltula here near the House of Twins, and then it’s time to head into the Lost Woods. A few turns in, Link discovers that Mido’s taken up his old habits of blocking the path, although this time it seems to be on Saria’s request. Link plays Saria’s song, which convinces Mido that he’s Saria’s friend, and Mido lets him pass, noting that Link reminds him of Mr. No-Fairy.

There’s another skulltula in the Lost Woods that requires riding a magic bean, and then it’s into the Sacred Meadow. The scrubs that used to dot the path are gone, replaced by moblins, who have clearly been eating their Wheaties [1], because they’re tougher than any other version. If they spot Link, they bullrush him, and they’re apparently immune to Z-targeting. However, they’re apparently incapable of looking off their patrol route, and one hit from the hookshot takes them out. A big moblin with a club blocks the end of the path, and it continually smashes its club into the ground, sending shockwaves at Link that knock him over. So Link has to weave between the blasts to get close enough to fight the Club Moblin, and probably gets knocked back at least once or twice while dealing damage.

When Link arrives at the clearing where Saria used to hang out, he looks sadly at her old stump seat. Sheik shows up and notes his sadness, and teaches him a song that will let him teleport back to the clearing: the Minuet of Forest. Sheik promises to see Link again before doing the Deku nut smoke bomb thing, leaving Link on his own. Overhead, there’s a branch Link can hookshot to, which puts him at the entrance to the Forest Temple.

Next: Chasing stolen fire.

[1] Or, since this is a prequel, stopped between now and A Link to the Past.